NATO Takes Over and Tell Rebels To Screw Themselves

In a turn of events, the rebels finally got the message that NATO will not supply them with weapons to fight Gaddafi. The new mission's objective is to enforce an arms-embargo, no-fly zone, and protecting civilians. But this objective does come with a caveat. NATO isn't there to decide the fate of the Libyan people, but rather, to enforce the will of the international community. With Britian and France having vested interest in Libyan oil, NATO's goal is to kill Gaddafi and establish a regime change.

(WSJ) BRUSSELS—Officials at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which early Thursday assumed control of allied operations to enforce the United Nations mandate in Libya, said they aren't considering arming Libyan rebels.

Simmering debate in Washington and Europe about whether to arm rebel groups and intensified amid the opposition's recent retreat from territory they had gained under the umbrella of coalition airstrikes.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters in Stockholm that he has taken note of the "ongoing discussion in a number of countries" about arming the rebels but "as far as NATO is concerned...we will focus on the enforcement of the arms embargo," which he said applies "across the board to all sides in this conflict."

NATO took full control of operations in Libya at 6 a.m. Brussels time Thursday. Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, the commander of NATO and non-NATO forces in the operation said that by midday, NATO had run more than 90 flights and sorties. He said he had more than 100 fighters and support aircraft, and more than 12 ships and submarines, under his command.

Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola, chairman of the NATO Military Council and the alliance's most senior military official, said the NATO operation, dubbed Unified Protectorate, entails enforcing an arms-embargo and no-fly zone and protecting civilians, as set out by the U.N. resolution.

"NATO is not in Libya to decide the future of the Libyan people," he told a news briefing in Brussels. "We are helping enforce the will of the international community."